Everlight
by Dreary Misfits
Summary: AU/OCs* Everlight is a world ruled by cats and haunted by a dark force. Four cats are chosen to be the devils and heroes of the age, but will their light be enough to drive away the darkness? *Rated T for possible future violence.
1. Prologue

_A __quiet __heartbeat__, __in __a __silent __world__._

_Darkness __rising__, __darkness __forever__... __that__'__s __a __dream __of __mine__. __But __here__... __trapped __in __this __other __world__..._

_A __way __out__... __That__'__s __all __I __need__. __One __way __out__!_

Quiet pawsteps rustled the deadened leaves of the Place of No Stars. A long, dark body prowled through the blackened ferns as a tom cat of many moons, and many more thoughts, made his way to some unknown destination. Dark, soulless gray eyes gleamed with quiet schemes as he pushed his way through a bush, some night-black fur getting snagged on the leaves as he went past. He didn't care; here, he could feel no pain. Eventually, his paws carried him to the edge of a dark red pool, glowing ruby with some unseen light source. Looking thoughtfully into the bloody depths, the cat allowed a small, sinister smile cross over his features and he chuckled, a sound more disturbing and nerve-wrenching than anything ever witnessed.

"Soon...soon, I will be free of this place." he murmured, his voice as hoarse and soft as the croaking of a half-dead toad. "This world cannot contain me forever..." Sitting down, he lowered a paw into the pool of blood and gently disturbed the liquid with it, sending small red ripples out to the edges of the pond.

"Now...to find a likely Host." he said as he thrust his paw in deeper, closing his eyes to concentrate.

A thousand screams entered his ears and pierced through his thoughts, all voices he had heard before. His smile only widened as the screams rose in pitch and he crouched to the ground, letting his paw become soaked with familiar blood. With each scream, a name appeared in his mind, and though he would love to relish in the memory of killing every last cat who filled this pool with their blood, he had work to do.

"_Tenebrae__," _he murmured, announcing his name into the pool. He pulled out his paw as the blood reacted to the spoken word, and started to swirl like a gentle whirlpool.

The vortex slowly increased in speed until it was spinning madly within the borders of the pool, and the red glowing light became more visible. Tenebrae looked on until the light flashed a blinding white and faded into the atmosphere.

He took a deep breath and sighed, looking triumphantly at the cat that appeared in the Bloodpool. He waved his bloodied paw over the pool and the cat was swallowed up as Tenebrae stood and watched the blood resume its usual still form.

He started to laugh, his voice once again becoming that unnerving, terrifying sound as he announced, "He is the one! _He _will be my Host."

* * *

"Hey Crux, come on!"

A dark gray tom looked up at the sound of his name. He smiled and nodded, standing up from his perch on a rock as he looked at the other tom who had called him.

"I'm coming, Lynx." Crux called as he leaped off the rock and took off after his golden-furred companion.

Lynx didn't wait around. He laughed and took off just as Crux was reaching him and the two wound up in a chase, Lynx running teasingly ahead while Crux tried to catch up. The two kicked up grass and dust as the chase carried them over spring-green fields and around a tall plateau dotted with trees.

"Come on, Crux! By the time you get to the beach, I'll have died of old age!" Lynx shouted as he picked up the pace.

"Ha! In your dreams, mouse-brain!" Crux called back as his own speed picked up and he was soon shoulder-to-shoulder with his friend.

"See you at the beach!" he laughed as he rocketed off, with Lynx laughingly in tow.

It wasn't long until the two toms found their paws touching sand instead of tall, wavy grass and the roar of the ocean reached their ears. They collapsed on the sand together, kicking it up in each other's faces as they played on the beach.

"You're the slowest cat in all of Everlight!" Lynx crowed as Crux shoved him over into the sand.

"No way! I beat you by four tails-lengths!" Crux said as Lynx stood up and pushed him over.

"Well, I say both of you are slower than slugs." another voice said.

The two looked up to see a light brown tabby she-cat grinning down at them from atop a dune.

"Hey! Where'd you come from?" Lynx asked, sitting up.

"I've been here, mouse-brain." the she-cat laughed.

"Well, it's nice to see you, Ara." Crux said, nodding at her,

Ara leaped off of her perch on the dune and walked towards them, her tail waving in the sea breeze as she fixed her dark green gaze on the two.

"So, what brings you to the beach? I don't usually see you here. What's wrong, got tired of your field?" she asked teasingly.

Lynx shook his head roughly, saying, "No way! We just wanted to come to the beach!"

Crux rolled his eyes and pushed Lynx over before he said, "Yeah. We just wanted to come here. I don't think we'll ever get tired of the field."

Ara shrugged, "Fair enough. Hey, did you hear?"

"Hear what?" Lynx asked as he tried to shake sand out of his pelt.

"There's a new band of loners!" Ara said brightly, "I heard they just came out of the southeastern swamp area!"

Crux tilted his head, "Really? Cool! I've always wanted to meet a swamp cat."

Ara jumped out in front of them, waving her tail, and said, "Well come on then! Be careful, though, my mother said they're really eccentric."

"Uh oh." Lynx laughed as he took after her, "Eccentric's never good!"

Crux sighed and shook his head as he followed them back the way they had come. He kept his head down, following their pawsteps as he muttered, "Eccentric...I wonder just how _eccentric_these cats are?"

* * *

**Dive****: **Well, there you have it! The Prologue to the newest adventure in the Warriors saga!

**Sun****: **Hey! I helped co-write it! x3. I'm gonna write the next chapter, so don't forget about meh!

**Dive****: **Right, right. Oh yeah, a little info about this before we go on! This is the prequel to our brand new Warriors site, Drear RPG. You get more info later on, so why not check it out at http:/drearrpg.webs.com/

**Sun****: **You won't regret it! :D. We even have a "Free-Lance" Section if you don't feel like roleplaying the story.

**Dive****: **Yep! This is Dive, signing off! See you next time! (I feel like an anchorman)

**Sun****: **(Exactly! xD) This is Sun, signing off! Oh, and please don't ask to co-write a story with us. This FF account is just for the two of us. ^^


	2. Chapter One

_Eccentric__, __huh__? _Crux thought as he followed Ara through the marshy land, Lynx following in close pursuit. He had only ever heard of swamp cats from stories, childish fairy-tales told by elders to the kits. He never actually thought he could meet a _real_one.

For a moment, Crux almost forgot where he was going, taking a wrong turn around a rather large tree. Finding his way back, he heard the snickering of Lynx behind him.

"Quit it, will you?" Crux rolled his eyes at his friend's laughter who, seeing as it sparked something in him, continued to do so with greater intensity.

"Come on, Crux. You're just too easy to tease. You make it so easy!" Lynx laughed and picked up his pace, pulling up next to the gray tom as they trudged on, the wet mud clinging to their paws for dear life.

"Oh? Do I?" He tried pulling his paw up, only to find it harder as the murky water became more muddy and sticky. Lynx only laughed at his attempts.

"Besides, I'm faster than you! I beat you here by seven tail-lengths!" While it _was_true, seven tail-lengths? Now he was just making that up! Crux's eyes turned to him, full of laughter and some irritation.

"No you didn't! Even if you _did_beat me, it wouldn't have been by _seven_tail-lengths!" Crux rolled his eyes. Why did Lynx always have to exaggerate?

"Of course I did! Everyone saw that!"

"You mean everyone as in you?"

"Ladies! Ladies," they both heard Ara's voice from up ahead. "You're both pretty! Can we get a move on now?" She chuckled slightly under her breath at the boys' childish manners.

Once they had finally stopped their racket, Crux finally had the chance to actually view his surroundings. Other than the crickets and toads chirping on the lily pads, there wasn't much alive in here. The willow trees that hung over the surface of the water, their leaves just barely disturbing its surface, made the swamp even more eerie. By now, Crux's paws were completely soaked in water and soiled by dirt.

A groan came from his right, and Crux had no need to investigate. Judging by the sound, he could tell it was his friend, Lynx, close behind him. It was a groan of terror and nervousness. Crux really couldn't blame him, but that didn't mean he wouldn't use it as an excuse to badger him some more.

"What are you, scared?" He intimidated Lynx and puffed up his chest, trying to show his bravado. His paws stopped for a moment to rest, and Lynx did the same.

"Wh-what? 'Course not!" Lynx shifted uneasily on his paws, contradicting his words. He quickly decided to keep moving, catching up to Ara and leaving Crux behind on his own.

It didn't take that much time before Ara stopped, leaving the two toms confused. Crux twitched his ears in anticipation, taking in all the sounds of the swamp. Most of them were crickets and toads, but together, they formed a symphony of sounds. He was almost enjoying himself before Ara's harsh words snapped him out of his daydream.

"You going to sit here all day or come? I thought you wanted to meet these 'swamp cats.'" Ara flicked her tail, gesturing for them to follow. Lynx proceeded first, contracting the muscles in his shoulder to fit into the small, narrow space between a rock and a swamp bush. Crux followed close behind. The moss that had grown around the area tickled his nose, almost making him sneeze. When he appeared at the other side (and was he glad to finally be out of that hole), he was taken aback by what he saw.

All around him were dark brown and black tabbies, staring at him with beady eyes. Some looked afraid while others looked taken aback by their presence. This was _definitely_not what Crux expected.

One of them stepped forward, a large, dark she-cat with crimson yellow pools that shown under the small amount of light that peeked beneath the canopy. At first, she looked as if she were about to attack the cats, but the realization dawned on Crux a bit late.

"Welcome to the Tribe of the Swale... _outsiders__." _The dark she-cat growled lowly in her throat, ready to attack if the strange cats meant harm. She must obviously be the leader of the Clan, or at least, Crux thought.

"Hm. Well, we just came by to say 'Hi! Welcome to the neighborhood!,' but if you're going to say it like that, then we might as well leave." Ara said with a flick of her tail. But before she could turn around, a sudden voice called out.

"Sorry." She profusely apologized, almost as if she truly meant it. However, Crux could still see the uncertainty behind those crimson yellow eyes. "Sorry. We are just... not used to having 'visitors.'" She put emphasis on that word. _Visitors__. _Probably because they tortured and ate what visitors they _did_get. But that was just a stupid kit-tale, right? Nodding quickly, before she changed her mind, the she-cat bit her lip to keep from saying anything rude. "I am Dusk, leader of this loner group. If you truly _are_here to visit," _And__not__attack__us__like__everyone__else__..._. she added silently to herself, "then you are welcome. Please, let us show you around."

As much as Crux wanted to dash out of the swamp, terrified of these alien cats, he decided that it wouldn't make him look all that great. Swallowing the fear down his throat, he took a few pawsteps into the center of the camp, being led by the cat named Dusk, with Ara lagging behind, obviously not as happy meeting the irritating cat. Her pelt shone beneath the extremely small amount of light that managed to squeeze through the thick canopy. Only a ray of sunlight managed to encase the cats when they reached the center of the camp, where the sky was just enough clear to allow in sunlight.

"This is our "camp" as you would call it. We live here, eat here, groom each other here, and even sleep here." Dusk nodded to a cat that passed by before disappearing into the swampy marsh.

"Hey, where's he going?" Crux spoke out, a little sheepish after he realized that he had just blurted it out.

However, Dusk did not even seem to notice. "Hunting. We need to eat, after all. Just like the rest of you." Her eyes turned back towards the camp, her mind towards the task at hand. "We take care of each other, and in turn, we live happy lives."

"But being a group seems _so_mundane." Lynx pointed out bluntly, yawning as he did so, as if to prove the point that he was bored. "Look, why would you all help each other if you only need to look after yourself? It's so much easier that way."

Growling softly, but amazingly hiding it well, Dusk eyed the cat warily. "Well, we just seem to do things differently our way, so keep your mouth shut." Lynx immediately flinched from Dusk's stern look and took a few steps back.

Deciding to come to his defense, Ara rolled her eyes. "Oh _please__. _You're hardly loners anymore! This isn't a band! These cats aren't even loners anymore!"

"Oh, really? Then what _are_we?"

"Please, stop it all of you!" Crux interrupted, putting a single paw between the three arguing cats. "We came here to see their home and way of life, not to criticize it!" Crux lowered his head in an apology, knowing he would not be able to pull one out of Ara and Lynx. "I'm sorry. _They__'__re_sorry." He looked up at the cat named Dusk.

Dusk raised her brows in surprise, but the look quickly changed to gratitude. "Thank you... Crux, was it?" Crux nodded, and she continued, "We'll..." She looked up towards the small opening in the canopy.

"What? What is it?" Ara asked curiously, padding over next to her in order to see what she was looking at.

"It's already dark." Dusk half-whispered as she noticed a small section of the moon in the distance.

Lynx sighed and groaned, stretching his muscle and rolling onto the mud. "Do we _have_to walk back in the dark?"

"You're welcome to stay here, if you desire." Dusk said a bit glumly and turned towards Ara. It took her a minute to think, but she finally nodded in reply.

"Very well. Where exactly do swamp cats sleep?" Crux looked around the camp after Ara asked. There were no sleeping areas.

"We sleep wherever we want. Under the trees, by the lake." She flicked her tail towards each named area. Immediately after, Lynx rolled around and became comfortable where he had fallen. Crux chuckled slightly at the sight.

Ara said nothing else as she walked over to a rather dry spot and laid down, closing her eyes and exhausted from the journey. Crux took a spot nearby, underneath the small opening in the canopy. Rolling onto his side, he turned his head slightly to look at the bright moon above him, shining a silver ray onto his gray pelt, making him ghost-like. Yawning, he turned back over and bathed in the moonlight after taking in its glory.

The moon. So free and high, with no limitations or obstacles. It was why it fascinated him so. It made him grateful for everything, every time he stared at it. Free in the sky. He was free.

But it was the last time he would feel freedom.

**Sun****: **Well, there's Chapter 1 for all you peoples! And please, R&R.

**Dive****: **I'm writing chapter 2 next! And remember, check out the site at drearrpg (dot) webs (dot) com

**Sun****: **Yush, yush. Please join us! You can roleplay in the Drear world!

**Dive****: **Slow beginning is slow...but that'll clear up very soon! See you next time!

**Sun****: **This is Sun, signing off!

**Dive****: **And Dive, ducking out! Ciao!


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